Sunday, 28 February 2016

Held at the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent - the same venue as Euromilitaire - on Saturday 27 February. Great show - the usual suspects all present! Mr Models, Dan Taylor, John of Pol Models, still with a bunch of Kagero Air Miniatures for sale, still the same price as they were 5 or 6 years ago! The show was as busy as I've seen it in the past 5 or 6 years too. Best of the club stands had to be 'East Kent Scale Modellers' although there was a nice collection of Bf 109s on the 'Shepway Military Modelling Club' stand too..Here's a few of the models that caught my eye, my favourite possibly the 72nd scale Revell Lancaster finished in French Aeronavale markings built by Fred of the Gondecourt Model club from Lille, France. At the bottom a link to a flickr album of model builds to peruse (270 photos)..

Monday, 8 February 2016

As the transparencies were short-shot on my first Blenheim new tool, a kind BM-er send spares from Australia. These arrived just after Christmas. Still nothing- since early November - from Hornby themselves. In the meantime I started kit 2 determined to do a better job by not following the instructions. But still my progress is slow. Now I'm a reasonable, measured sort of guy but there are limits.....as a moderately experienced modeller this is an absolutely appallingly badly designed kit and the fit is atrocious. Nothing fits! Even with help from 'Steve' and others who have completed it. Falling rapidly out of love with Airfix on this one.

Now I'm doing one build as per the instructions and the other 'out on my own' ..guess which method has the least gaps and is proving the 'easiest' -relatively speaking - to work on? Above, kit 1 - fit the fuselage parts together as two halves and then join. Much better result than kit 2 , images below. To follow the instructions on the Airfix new-tool Blenheims is to invite disaster! Below, kit 2 - lots of filling and sanding..

Saturday, 6 February 2016

Reference...we modellers generally can't get enough of it...I am lucky enough (?!) to live just a short train journey away from the Aviation Bookshop in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Probably no exaggeration to say that proprietor Simon Watson and his staff (Justin and Roly) have a veritable Aladdin's Cave of books and models for the airplane enthusiast! Here's a few pics from my latest visit...with a bit of Christmas money to spend..and of course they are mail order specialists here